Popo Global, the Bengaluru-based company behind gourmet food brands The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini, and Smash Guys have raised Rs 532 crore from global investment firm Artal Asia in exchange for a significant minority stake.
The investment follows a report in April that Popo Ventures was exploring a Rs 550-600 crore stake sale at a valuation of approximately Rs 1,300-1,350 crore. At the time, investors, including Norwest Venture Partners, A91 Partners, TR Capital, and Temasek, had reportedly evaluated the opportunity. The proposed transaction was expected to comprise largely secondary shares, with a small primary component also under consideration.
However, Popo Global has not revealed the valuation or the exact structure of the transaction. Nevertheless, sources said the deal values the company at around Rs 1,500 crore.
Notably, this marks Popo Global’s first external funding round. Until now, the company has largely relied on bootstrapped capital to finance its expansion since its establishment.
While welcoming Artal Asia to their cap table, Nikhil and AB Gupta said, “9 years ago, we were trying to figure out how to make one great pizza. We didn’t set out to build a leading restaurant company and certainly not to be talking one day about bringing in a global investor. What we did have was an obsession with making food people genuinely wanted to come back for and a slightly irrational belief that restaurants could be built differently.”
“That belief became a business, then three brands, and now a platform we think can be much bigger than any one of them. Bringing Artal Asia into Popo lets us think considerably bigger while keeping the spirit that got us here—never cutting any corners on quality. The best part is that this still feels like the beginning. We have a few more ovens to play with now,” they added.
Meanwhile, The Rainmaker Group served as the exclusive financial adviser to Popo Global for the transaction. Invus acted as the global investment adviser to Artal Asia.
Avijit Goel, Partner, The Rainmaker Group said, “With Artal Asia’s patient capital and global operating expertise, this fundamentally well-run, Bangalore-born company is well-positioned to become India’s most-loved restaurant business.”
Founded in 2017 by brothers Nikhil Gupta and Abhijit “AB” Gupta, Popo Global has expanded from a single The Pizza Bakery outlet into a multi-brand food platform. Today, the company operates around 40 outlets across The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini, and Smash Guys.
So far, Popo Global has built most of its presence in Bengaluru. However, the company now plans to take its brands to markets beyond the city. Therefore, the latest investment will help fund its next phase of expansion.
Furthermore, the transaction gives Artal Asia a minority holding in Popo Global and expands its exposure to the food and beverage sector.
Artal Asia operates as an affiliate of Artal Group, which has global investments in businesses such as CAVA, the U.S.-based Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain. In India, Artal Group has invested in Capital Foods, which Tata Consumer Products acquired for Rs 5,200 crore in 2024.
“Our mission is to empower exceptional entrepreneurs to transform their industries. We are proud to support Popo Global in continuing their customer and product obsession at greater scale,” said Lee Swee Yin, director at Artal Asia.
For Popo Global, the transaction represents a major institutional investment as the company prepares to scale its restaurant brands beyond Bengaluru and build a larger multi-brand food and beverage platform.
